Small Spends Annual Cost Calculator

Who this is for

What the little things add up to. For each everyday purchase you enter the price and how often you buy it, and the sheet shows the weekly, monthly and yearly cost, and what a cheaper swap would save over a year.

Anyone who suspects the small daily purchases are where the money goes, and anyone deciding which habits are worth keeping and which to swap.

What this helps you track

• Each regular small purchase and how often you make it
• Its cost by the week, the month and the year
• The total of all small spends together
• What swapping each one for a cheaper alternative would save

How to use it

1. Write your name and the month you are looking at.
2. List each small regular purchase with its usual price and how many times a week you buy it.
3. Where there is a cheaper option, such as a flask or a packed lunch, enter what it costs each time.
4. The cost and saving columns and the totals are worked out in the browser and workbook; on paper, use the note under the table.
5. Pick the swaps worth making, not all of them, and check back in a month.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What if I buy something less than once a week?

Enter a fraction: once a fortnight is 0.5, once a month roughly 0.25. The weekly, monthly and annual figures follow from that.

What if there is no cheaper alternative?

Leave the cheaper price blank. The saving column then shows what stopping the purchase altogether would save, which is useful to know even if you keep it.

How is the monthly cost worked out?

Weekly cost multiplied by 52 weeks and divided by 12 months, so every month carries the same share of the year.

Is the aim to cut everything?

No. The sheet shows the cost so you can choose. Some small spends are worth every penny to you, and the point is to decide that on purpose.